Thursday, 24 October 2013
Natural Disaster Project, Biotic Perils, The Black Death
Plague: A disease caused by bacteria, which
spreads rapidly to large populations and often ends in death after delusion and
fever.
Factors that cause this phenomenon to
happen: Plague is caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis which is found in
fleas, and transferred to other creatures such as rats, or prairie dogs, or
humans, by their bite. Plague, like any virus, is a constantly evolving thing
and can sometimes outpace the medical remedies that we humans have devised.
Plague can be found to be most prevalent in areas that see a high rodent
population due to the fleas’ habit of jumping from one host to another. In the
case of rats at least, areas such as this are often the less clean streets of
cities.
An extreme close up of a flea.
Where it happened: The Black Death started
in the province of Hopei, (also called Hebei) which was a part of Yuan
dynasty,(as well as modern day) China. It annihilated the population of Hopei,
cutting it by 90% before devastating much of the rest of China and spreading
west through the ancient trade routes. It was at the port city of Kaffa that
the first case of the Black Death was reported in Europe, and from there it
spread rapidly to cover virtually the whole of Europe. (Excluding the
uninhabited areas, and oddly enough, a small pockets of healthy areas
throughout Europe)
Map showing the areas of Europe
affected by the Black Death
Why it happened: Like most major ailments,
the Black Death seems to have been caused by the constant evolution of disease.
With the suitable conditions, a mutation would have taken place that caused a
disease that people had little or no immunity to, the Black Death. Although there
had been plagues before this one, none seem to have measured up to the Black
Death in terms of sheer suffering and loss of life. In terms of why the Black
Death came to Europe, we can blame the westward spread of trade from China as a
general reason for the Black Death’s spread to Europe, and the Mongol siege of
the city of Kaffa as a specific reason. The Mongols were winning the siege of
Kaffa, they had cut off supplies to the port city, and seem to have been well
on their way to adding yet another city to one of the largest empires the world
has ever seen, when a sickness fell over the invaders, killing them in large
numbers. The situation became desperate, the Mongols knew they could not win,
but that was not going to stop them from making the city that had halted their
relentless march west pay for stopping them. They hurled their dead over the
walls of Kaffa, causing the people of this trading city to be infected with the
same illness that had driven away the Mongols. This mysterious ailment was in fact
the Black Death, and as people left this colony of Genoa to escape the plague
they unknowingly carried it with them wherever they went. Within about 6 years
virtually all of Europe had been infected.
An example of the Mongols besieging a
city in much the same way they besieged Kaffa
What was the Impact: In Europe 25 million
people, or one third of Europe’s population at the time, died as a result of
the Black Death between the years 1347 and 1352. The Impact on society in
Europe was quite profound, suddenly the little bit of order that Europe had
managed to gain since the collapse of the Romans was shattered. As people
became infected with plague they abandoned each other to their fates. Whole
cities were left to fend for themselves as their rulers left them for dead. The
story was quite the same for families, as individuals were left to die while
the rest tried not to be next. Suddenly everybody was looking for something or
someone to blame, and the causes given for the Black death were as varied as an
alignment between Jupiter and Saturn, and Jews poisoning the water. Peasants
were becoming much scarcer, so many had been killed by, or fled from the Black
Death that now there were very few laborers, and each was considered much more
valuable than they were before. The Peasants were starting to be charged lower
taxes and given more individual freedoms in an effort to keep them around; it
was the start of things to come.
The horror of the Black Death.
How did the region recover: Their seems to
be no definite cure for the black death, (though many were tried) instead this
devastating disease appears to have simply moved on to ravage new areas when
sufficient numbers of people had been killed to thin the population density.
Meaning that less trash would be thrown in the streets, attracting fewer rats
carrying fleas infected with the Black Death and causing the effects of the
plague to subside from that area, at least temporarily. This was the only means
Europe had for centuries to battle the plague, other than its people building
up a natural immunity to the Black Death. (And later plagues) Because of this,
the Plague did return to parts of Europe periodically until 1720 when the last
recorded outbreak occurred there, but did not cause nearly as much devastation
as the Black Death.
What is the region doing to predict and
prepare for future perils: Since the late Middle Ages European Cities and towns
have become much cleaner attracting fewer rats. As well, great strides have
been made in understanding plague, and where it currently occurs, it can
usually be treated with the use of antibiotics.
Medieval towns were not clean places,
with all manner of material tossed out in the streets. Conditions were perfect
for rats, (which were carrying the fleas that contained the plague bacteria) to
spread quickly.
In stark contrast to their medieval
ancestors, modern European towns such as Brussels, the capital of Belgium which
is pictured here, are very clean and see far fewer rats than in the middle
ages.
Natural Disaster Project, Atmospheric Perils, The Great Ice Storm of 1998
Ice Storm: a period of freezing rain that
leaves everything that this freezing rain comes into contact with, covered in
Ice, and can posse a very real threat to transportation and electrical systems.
Factors that cause this phenomenon to
happen: Ice storms are caused when the atmospheric conditions are just right.
There has to be a layer of cold air in the upper atmosphere, followed by a
layer of warm air further down, followed
by a layer of cold air at ground level. When it snows with these atmospheric
conditions present the snow falls so far and then melts as it passes through
the warm layer, it than falls to the ground or structures such as power lines,
and freezes on contact due to the colder layer near the ground. The atmospheric
conditions that cause ice storms to happen, involve warm low-pressure systems
converging with areas of stationary cold air, which causes this atmospheric mix
up that makes ice storms possible.
A tree has fallen over from the sheer
weight of the ice that built up on it from the Great Ice Storm of 1998, and
crushed a car.
Where it happened: The Great Ice Storm of
1998 occurred In the Canadian Provinces of Ontario, (only in the eastern part
of the province) Quebec,(the southern part of the province) New Brunswick, and
Nova Scotia, as well as in the American States of New York, Vermont, New
Hampshire, and Maine.
Map of the areas affected by the Great
Ice Storm of 1998.
Why it happened: This the Largest of Ice
storms to hit Canada, and likely the United States as well, was caused by a
rather unusual occurrence in the North American jet stream. A mass of cold air
had stopped over southern Ontario; this cold air was then bombarded by a mass
of moist warm air from the Gulf of Mexico. As the two air masses met the warm
air mass rose above the cold air mass, and when the moist air from the warm air
mass condensed and fell as rain, it passed through the cold air mass and froze
where ever it fell. Normally this would not be a problem but with the record
setting conditions that this ice storm brought with it, the Great Ice Storm of
1998 was unlike anything that had been seen before it.
The unique atmospheric requirements
for an ice storm
What Was the Impact: There were many
impacts to the 1998 ice storm, starting with the obvious, power outages, 4.7
million people without power in Canada and 500 000 without power in the United
States. To the less obvious, thousands, if not millions of trees were damaged
or killed by this ice storm; the maple industry was particularly hard hit.
Whole hectares of sugar maple trees were destroyed, and in many areas the
industry would have had to have re-started up from scratch. In Canada, an
electrical system which had been decades in the making, was destroyed by this 6
day storm. (The Great Ice Storm of 1998 stated on January 4th 1998 and ended on
January 10th 1998) In total 120 000 kilometers of telephone cables and power
lines, 30 000 wooden utility poles, and 130 transmission towers were destroyed.
As many as 300 power customers in Ontario and 45 000 in Quebec were still
without power by the end of the month of January. 45 people lost their lives as
a result of this storm, which does not sound like a lot at first but any person
lost is too many. In terms of financial cost, in Canada damage caused by the
Great Ice Storm of 1998 is estimated to be at $500 million, while the cost in
terms of interrupted business is somewhere in the billions. On a happier not
the 1998 ice storm has also shown us that there is still some humanity in the
world, as people who did still have their power or regained it quite quickly
let entire families of strangers into their homes so that they would have
somewhere to go. People shared what they had, and families became closer.
The Great Ice storm of 1998 caused an
electrical system which took decades to be set up was destroyed in a matter of
days.
How did the region recover: It was a very
difficult task to repair an electrical system that took decades to set up, in
the matter of weeks that it was fixed in. It would not have been possible
without the tireless work of so many individuals, starting with the Canadian
military. In this, the largest peacetime mobilization of the armed forces in
Canadian history, 16 000 people in the Canadian military came out to help clear
debris, ferry supplies, and transport people to the emergency shelters which
had been set up. Of course, the situation would have been hopeless without the
hard work of so many hydro repair people, not just from Ontario and Quebec, but
as far away as the Atlantic Provinces, Manitoba, and Several of the American
states. These hardworking folk set 10 000 new power poles, and strung 3000
kilometers of power line, in weather conditions which were far from suitable.
There were also other individuals and groups working tirelessly to repair the
Damage caused by the Great Ice Storm such as the church organizations, helping
people who had lost everything, or the fire fighter working round the clock to
keep people’s houses from going up in smoke.
The United States called in some of
its soldiers for the cleanup effort as well. This group, the 10th Mountain
Division’s 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry regiment is clearing branches and
fallen tree limbs in the village of Copenhagen New York State.
What is the region doing to predict and
prepare for future perils: Since the Great Ice Storm of 1998, the Canadian
people have come to realize better their dependence on electricity. Many have
also purchased generators, or even built fireplaces for future ice storms. (Or
blizzards, or anything that causes power outages really) What the Great Ice
Storm of 1998 has really done however is to remind Canadians that we are not
quite as invincible as we think, we must prepare for these storms before they
hit so that when they do we can hunker down nice and cozy by a pleasant fire
with a good book.
Since the Great Ice storm of 1998 many
people have installed wood stoves in their homes.
Natural Disaster Project, Geological Perils The Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004
Tsunami: A very large wave which has its
origins in earthquakes or other geological disturbances, and can cause much
devastation.
Factors that cause this phenomenon to
happen: Tsunamis are most generally caused by earthquakes, but they can be
caused by numerous other factors ranging from landslides, such as when a minor
earthquake on the southern edge of the Grand Banks in November 1929, caused a
large section of the Grand Bank to give way in an underwater landslide,
creating a tsunami which caused great damage to the southern coast of the
island of Newfoundland. Volcanic
eruptions have also created tsunamis, such as when a volcanic eruption that
destroyed much of the island of Santorini created a tsunami, (or tsunamis)
which devastated the north coast of Crete and many of the Aegean islands in
about 1450 BCE and may well have directly influenced the end of the Minoan
civilization. Meteorites have also caused tsunamis but it is exceedingly rare
for them to do so. As well, the testing of nuclear weapons has been known to
create small tsunamis but has not, and is unlikely to; create tsunamis of any
great size due to international treaties banning the use of nuclear weapons.
The 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami starts to
push inland in Thailand.
Where it happened: the Earthquake that
triggered the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 started off the coast of Sumatra. It
was quite a large quake at a magnitude of 9.3 and when it hit, a rather large
area of sea floor, (1200 kilometers) suddenly rose up triggering the Tsunami.
In terms of countries hit by this killer wave there were quite a few: the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, (technically part of India, but so hard hit by the
tsunami they got a classification of their own) Bangladesh, Burma, India,
Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Maldives, the Seychelles, Somalia, Sri Lanka,
Tanzania, and Thailand were hit directly by this giant wave, with tidal
fluctuations occurring as far away as the eastern seaboard of North America.
Though the Boxing day Tsunami of 2004
only hit 12 countries in the Indian ocean directly, tidal fluctuations, caused
by the severity of the earthquake that triggered the tsunami could be felt as far
away as the eastern seaboard of North America.
Why it happened: The Boxing Day Tsunami of
2004 was caused by the Earthquake that preceded it. The severity of this
particular quake and the huge area of seafloor which was displaced by it led to
the far reaching sever effects that this Tsunami had over a very large portion
of the Indian Ocean, and lesser affects felt around the world.
What was the Impact: The first country to
be hit by this devastating tsunami was Indonesia, which was right next to where
the tsunami began, and felt the worst of its fury. In all, this one tsunami
Killed about 250 000 people and destroyed the homes of about 2 million people.
It swept untold people and debris out to sea, as well as decimating large areas
of coastline. (Especially in Indonesia) As well as destroying livelihoods, (in
many areas, even a year after the tsunami occurred, people were still living in
makeshift shelters and in many cases still waiting to resume their regular
jobs) and prompting countries in the Indian Ocean to be more vigilant when
watching for tsunamis.
An example of an area affected by the
tsunami before and after the event occurred.
How did the region recover: The recovery
process was very different in different areas hit, some simply had to repair
the relatively minor damage sustained to their coastlines, while other had to
rebuild from the ground up. In areas such as Indonesia and Sri Lanka a fair
amount of aid was required to be brought in due to the sheer severity of the
situation. Since the events of December 26th 2013 however, the regions affected
seem to be recovering quite nicely, at least physically. There is however still
a very real long lasting philological trauma that many of the tsunami survivors
have had to go through and still go through, that will likely remain with them
for the rest of their lives. Their still seems to be some regions which have
not cleaned up from the tsunami physically, and one of those places is Tamil
Nadu, India, where boats washed inland have still not been cleaned up.
This is a village that was virtually
destroyed by the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. Before.
This is a photo of what I am convinced
is the same village, 2 years later. After. The only recognizable feature from
the village as it was 2 years before, being the white building on the left hand
side of the picture.
What is the region doing to predict and
prepare for future perils: To protect themselves better from future tsunamis,
the countries bordering the Indian ocean have set up an early warning system of
sorts, a series of experimental tsunami buoys of which there are now 39
throughout the Indian Ocean. (Before the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 struck
there were six) These will help to let people know a tsunami is coming, and
hopefully give them enough time to escape to safety.
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